Kirklees’ astonishing treasure trove of art includes other famous artists alongside a Francis Bacon classic.

Bacon’s painting Figure Study II is estimated to be worth at least £19m and the council also has works by Thomas Gainsborough, Walter Sickert, Augustus John and not one but three pieces by “matchstick men” painter LS Lowry.

Council leader David Sheard says he had been unaware of the sheer size and scope of the collection and suggested it should be curated in a way that made it open, accessible and online for everyone to explore and enjoy.

And he agreed that it was “only a matter of time” before someone tied together the argument for keeping high-value art while museums are being axed. He said it was “even more relevant” to discuss the merits of auctioning off specific pieces of art.

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He was speaking after Examiner readers joined the debate over whether the Bacon painting should be sold, with the money going towards shoring up the borough’s cultural sector.

The Francis Bacon work Figure Study II

Meanwhile, at Huddersfield Art Gallery visitors hoping to view the renowned Bacon painting – advertised prominently on a banner outside – were disappointed. One wrote in the visitor book: “Please: sell the Francis Bacon if it means this and our other museums can stay open. It’s really no use sitting locked up in a vault where no-one can enjoy it.”

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Clr Sheard is calling for a public debate to look at all options regarding the future of the Bacon painting and particularly in the light of auction sales of similar works that have seen prices go through the roof.

London art experts believe Figure Study II could be worth double or even treble its current valuation, potentially realising in the region of £60m at auction.

“It’s a constant theme: should we sell or not?” said Clr Sheard.

“One of the situations that might have changed (our view) are the dire straits that we are in financially. We are not on our own in that. In that respect it’s very difficult to argue against selling it.”

The Bacon painting was gifted to Bagshaw Museum in Batley in the 1950s by the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) which is adamant that a covenant prevents its sale.

Clr Sheard said it was too early to talk about the possibility of mounting a legal challenge over the CAS covenant but it was “illustrative of the times we are in” that the argument was raging again.

“If any money raised was just ring-fenced around art and museums, I wouldn’t even look at it,” he said. “It’s only if you have got other priorities that it’s worth looking at.

“We would love to rent the painting out. More people see it and we get a continued benefit from it. And it’s still ours. That’s a better solution than selling it.”

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Asked how much revenue came back to Kirklees when the painting toured to foreign locations, Clr Sheard said he understood that no money was forthcoming.

And unlike the Lowry artwork, which appears on mugs, bookmarks, fridge magnets and prints, the Bacon painting cannot be exploited in the same way.

Figure Study II was most recently on display at Tate Liverpool. In Kirklees it can only be hung in Huddersfield Art Gallery due to security and environmental concerns. It is also costly to insure and spends a good deal of time in storage.

Yorkshire artist Jake Attree, whose paintings form part of the Kirklees collection, was “surprised and delighted” when informed that his work sits alongside art by giants such as Jack Butler Yeats, Luciano Pissaro and Stanley Spencer.

The 65-year-old, who has a studio at Dean Clough, in Halifax, said the question of selling the Bacon painting was a vexed one.

“My instinct tells me once it’s gone, it’s gone. You could never get it back. It’s the thin edge of the wedge. Soon there could be no collection left.”